User blog:Jdogman/The TrackMaster ReMaster
In 2014, as we know, we have seen Fisher-Price take a new step this year for the Thomas TrackMaster range which has been far more drastic than the changes which occured in 2012, 2010, and even when the range began in 2007, which have been seen as controversial for many fans. Now I may just be another person adding to the many other posts out there on this subject, but I hope I can cover things a bit differently and talk about anything that others may have missed touching up on. Before I begin, I am not a fan of the changes myself and I think it has been a shame to see parts of it happen. This is not a review of the range, more a review of others' reactions and all my thoughts are based on videos and seeing some of the products in person, so there may be some things where I'm not in the right state of mind to say things about it. The most notable thing I have seen when people come to talk about it is them stating that they know it is for kids, but I believe there have been parts not explained enough. At the end of the day, the target consumer for the range kept in mind is for kids aged around 3-6 and of course, Fisher-Price is a company that was always intended to make products for very young children. While toys are always first thought as "childrens' play things", they have been shown to have a timeless appeal and sometimes have a larger following to people outside of the target audience. Hot Wheels cars are collected by adults as much as they are by kids, LEGO is collected and enjoyed by people of all pages, Barbie dolls even have a big following by older men, My Little Pony has a large following by teenagers and adults which the creators are aware of, and many action figures, even though they are still designed and aimed for kids and are sold in childrens' sections, are collected by adults, which the companies and makers know that's who they're selling to. Going back to the same area as the Thomas and Friends franchise, these kinds of toys can be enjoyable for adults in families for example, where they can ask questions and take an interest in what their child is doing or making, can join in and help create a Thomas train set together, play along with it, and become as much of a fan as their child so they can later both experience activities such as watching the show together or adding new products to the layout over time. This is what I think shows that the Thomas toys are not enjoyed by just kids, but older people who get to experience it and understand it as much as the kids. That is not to say that this applies to all kids out there. There are those who are big Thomas' enthusiasts, but there are others who may have seen Thomas amongst all those other kids shows who are not fully into it, as I remember there weren't that many kids I knew when I was younger that were into Thomas as much as I were (plus I recall a memory of talking to someone about Bill, Ben, and BoCo and that person having no idea what I was talking about), and who have those parents that buy one or two random Thomas items having no idea who they really are just so their child has something to play with. From what I've seen, the products in the range are just alright. I think it is good that the engines are faster, but it is a shame that there has to be an extra battery used to make it possible, as you would need a lot for a few engines which could get annoying. I also like how the engines can grip better to track, but the gear wheels look quite unattractive, and I dislike how they can't freeroll and make a dreadful clacking sound instead, whereas freewheeling previously was a good alternative, but now you have to make it motorized or else it won't work. I am a little divided on the chassis. I think it is a good incentive to make all the engines share the same type of chassis because it would make producing them at the factory much simpler and less complicated when new engines are made and it doesn't mean the hassle of having to print a battery manual for every type of chassis, but it is a little bit of a shame that you don't get make uniqueness from the engine as you did before. The claim of more detail added was just a little stretch. I never expect detail on things which are only meant to be toys so I don't think it is too neccessary. We're already fine with the Motor Road and Rail engines having a lack of wheels and the smaller engines being longer than they are so they can fit on the motor system the non-licensed trains were using. There is not much difference in looks between the 2014 and 2012 engines from some angles, considering they had to be a little bit boxed in in order to fit the chassis, and I dislike how middle wheels are now moulded on to chassis', but I think there is one little thing which has improved, the shorter sizes of the tenders and trucks are now more accurate in proportion to the engine. It was strange seeing them in person for the first time after being so used to the original length. The strength is a bit of an issue too. Sure, they can go up steeper inclines, but that is only with one or two trucks at a stretch. I have an OCD where I only let engines pull about 1-3 trucks, but I'm sure that there are those curious boys who couple up a long line of trucks to get a goods train going, and these engines just cannot take it. The older engines could pull a long line though and they weren't even designed to do that. The track system has some fine looking destinations already such as Gordon's Hill and the Avalanche Escape, but the actual track is somewhat of a worry. It looks like track of a lower standard from another range, considering how thin it is and has spaces between the sleepers to make it look more like real track, but it has lost its sturdiness. The method of connecting the track by snapping it together through the holes look like they might be a little bit tough for younger children if there's lots to do of it, and it might be easier to wear it out. The destinations added to the track makes it not sit flat in some areas and unstable instead. The thing I do like is the traction on the rails and how well it works with the coordinating engines. The next part is the compatibility. I think the steps taken by Fisher-Price were a step too far in terms of kids who already have a layout of brown track TrackMaster. I'm not expecting to see Motor Road and Rail items working with the system as many years have passed between these two ranges meaning that there wouldn't be a large generation using blue track so grey track TrackMaster wouldn't have been designed with Motor Road and Rail in mind. However, when Motor Road and Rail changed to brown track TrackMaster, the differences were notable but both ranges could work fine with each other that the transistioning between the two was easy enough. The change from brown track TrackMaster to grey track TrackMaster is just a stretch too much. Older TrackMaster engines do not fair well on the grey slopes, and the newer engines' uses on the brown track is limited to mainly regular track where it does not benefit with destinations, and the couplers between the two are not on the same wavelength because the grey couplings are shaped differently and thus weaker than the white couplings. Of course there is a disclaimer saying that the newer engines may not work with some destinations, but both ranges are in too of a different league with each other that trying to work together is a little tricky of a task. This transitioning during the next year could be hard for children who own some of the brown track and are adding new items to their layout, but are with their parents having trouble with why parts of their new toys don't work with the older ones even though they are still meant to be the same range of motorized engines, and will find parts of their layout restrictive for the older engines. Now like I began this paragraph, I'm not expecting the new system to work well with Motor Road and Rail items, but the redesign of the wheels was a little bit too far that they don't work at all on blue tracks' traction, and I'm thinking shouldn't a bit of the chassis been vaguely familiar with the blue track without even trying to be? Now what exactly is going to happen now? The next year or so is going to be a slow transition where all the brown track TrackMaster products will be removed from the shelves to be replaced with new stock, and in enough time the track adaptors will go. It's going to be hard for kids who might've just started playing with TrackMaster this year and would have to change into what feels like another toy line already, and there may be parents who do not really look into the toys and just buy something on the toy shelf which may be an older engine or set which doesn't work with their child's new grey track set. I remember back to 2007 when the TrackMaster range was new and I really liked the look of the items, but I recall many negative reactions and even a petition to go back to Motor Road and Rail even though the changes were final, but within a few years and the adaptors disappearing, people were used to it and having good collections of it, and nothing came out of those previous reactions that occured. My last few points is about how we, being fans, are going to deal with what is going on. I feel that some, say about half, of people out there have overreacted to the new range with things such as "TrackMaster is dead" or "No one will buy this". The thing is, people will still buy these toys for their children anyway because that's what they're there for, and there would still be many people out there like new parents who wouldn't even have any brown track TrackMaster, and the sales will not change partly because Thomas and Friends still is the number 1 preschool toy property worldwide. A friend told me that some had even wanted to boycott Fisher-Price. I've been aware of a petition that has been going around to tell Fisher-Price to revert back to the previous design. Now people can do what they like, but I advise others to please, not sign a petition or bother creating one. Even from what I said earlier about people of many ages enjoying the range, Fisher-Price, a company which specialise in toys for children and preschoolers, are not going to be listening to a group of older people for what they should do. I don't mean to offend others but when you look at in hindsight, what some people have done is quite sad and not worth spending time on. I think the only way of getting disagreements people might have with the new range out across to Fisher-Price would be to leave constructive criticism in the review sections of the product pages on the official Fisher-Price website, provided you own the product of course. So there you have it. The next few years are going to be a little difficult with the transitioning and it's going to be interesting to see how the Thomas TrackMaster range is going to be in the next few years when maybe the adaptors have been removed, how it's going to expand with its line of engines, packs, and sets, and how new and previously made products will be produced for the range. It has also been interesting how people have responded to these drastic measures compared to the cost-cutting changes which occured in 2012, and some in 2009, where people were finding the products not as good as they used to be, but still managable. In fact, the poll I ran after the 2014 New York Toy Fair showed that plenty of people were looking forward to what was to come. I am not going to be buying any of the new products, not just because I don't like them but because I'm happy with what I own. There's next to nothing that can be done about changing the products, but maybe in about another two years, there could be some little modifications which could make us happier, but no way will it revert completely back to the previous version. I think if we had already had the 2014 range for many years then we would've been pretty happy with the range and its features we could put up with, and even though I think parts of the new range are okay, the fact that we know what the standards of the Thomas Motor Road and Rail/TrackMaster ranges were means that it's a shame what we have now could've been so much better. Category:Blog posts